Poker Writer
Thomas Eychenne won the PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona Main Event on Sunday, securing his first career tournament victory. The French pro has won millions of dollars over the years and made nearly 20 final tables, including four runner-up finishes, without a win until this weekend.
Now, he has finally broken that unfortunate streak, coming out first in this prestigious event after battling his way through a field of 2,045 entries.
Eychenne has been a prominent player in Europe for several years. He had just over $2.7 million in career earnings before this win. Despite his career achievements, he had never finished first in any poker tournament before EPT Barcelona. His career results are littered with several second and third-place finishes.
But he had never been able to close at the business end of a final table. Four times he finished as runner-up in his career, including three times on the EPT. The most recent recorded result on his resume before this win was a deep run in the 2025 WSOP Main Event, where he finished in 47th place.
The €1,217,175 top prize (~$1.4M) beat his previous career best cash of $801,000 and moves his career total earnings above the $4 million mark, according to the Card Player archives. The player from Lyon now sits in the top 20 of France’s all-time money list.
Thomas Eychenne is the #EPTBarcelona Main Event champion. 🏆
The Frenchman collects €1,217,000 for the win, after striking a heads-up deal with Sebastian Ionita, who takes home €1,117,000. 👏 pic.twitter.com/Rq6VszX4by
— PokerStars LIVE (@PokerStarsLIVE) August 31, 2025
Keep Reading
Strong International Representation At Final Table
The final table featured players from eight different countries. The penultimate day played down to six players. Entering the final day second in chips, Eychenne quickly took the lead. He took control of the final table as the rest of play flowed through him as chip leader. This time, first place would not elude his grasp. He ultimately defeated Sebastian Ionita of Romania heads-up after the two players made a deal to distribute the prize money more evenly.
| Place | Player | Prize | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thomas Eychenne | €1,217,175* | France |
| 2 | Sebastian Ionita | €1,117,175* | Romania |
| 3 | Umberto Zaffagnini | €641,200 | Italy |
| 4 | Tomasz Brzezinski | €493,250 | Poland |
| 5 | Julian Pineda Lozano | €379,350 | Colombia |
| 6 | Anton Suarez | €291,800 | Sweden |
| 7 | Marc Foggin | €224,450 | United Kingdom |
| 8 | Cesar Garcia | €172,700 | Spain |
Eychenne chose a good event for his first victory as EPT Barcelona always brings huge numbers. It is among the largest poker series in the world from year to year. The 2025 version of the series was no exception, with large numbers throughout, culminating in the over 2,000-entry main event. Another notable result was Shiina Okamoto winning another women’s event.
